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One of my favorite parts of playing with kit homes is reading the testimonials in the back pages, from happy customers. Today, as I was scanning a 1914 catalog, I came across this testimonial. The writer is Charles Stoffel, and he explains that he’s quite pleased with his new home, the Kentucky #2, which was finished in January 1913. His baby girl, Maxim Stoffel, was born about a month later. The house was built in Mechanicsville, Iowa.

This picture helps give perspective on these houses. An Aladdin baby, born in 1913 (when the Aladdin kit home was built), would now be 98 years old.

And I’d bet money the Stoffel family doesn’t know that great-grandma’s baby picture is in an old Aladdin catalog.

If you know where this house is in Mechanicsville, please leave a comment below! Or if you know the Stoffel family, please forward this link to them.